Vossen opened the game against the rival Wichita Thunder with a goal and ended the thriller with an overtime shootout game-winner as the Mavericks claimed 5-4 victory at the Independence Events Center.

“It’s about time,” said a grinning Vossen, who scored his last goal Dec. 18. “It’s such a great feeling to help this team win a game like this. I’ve had so many opportunities to score, and tonight I was able to find the back of the net twice.”

The win helps the 28-19-4 Mavericks claim sole possession of fifth place in the CHL standings with 60 points. Rapid City is in fourth place with 61 points and Denver is in sixth with 59.

The Mavericks’ home game at 7:05 p.m. tonight against Denver has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 13, because of the incoming snow storm. The Mavs will return to action 7:05 p.m. Friday against the Quad City Mallards at the Events Center.

Third-place Wichita roared out of the gate Saturday to claim a 2-0 first-period lead that Vossen cut in half when he scored at the 11:19 mark.

“We get so much energy from our fans,” Vossen said, “and they really came to life after we scored that first goal.”

That sparked a 4-0 Mavericks run as Kellen Tochkin, Kenton Miller and Colt King followed with goals to give Missouri a 4-2 lead.

But the Thunder came back to knot the score at 4-all on two late second-period goals as R.G. Flath scored with just over two minutes left in the period and Chad Painchaud tied the game with three seconds remaining.

“It was going to be interesting to see how the team and Clemmer (goaltender Mike Clemente) responded after those two quick goals,” said Mavericks coach Scott Hillman, who picked up career win No. 200. “That was a character win. We come back from Fort Worth Friday, get home early Saturday morning and find a way to win this game.”

John-Scott Dickson, CHL scoring leader Sebastien Thinel and Vossen scored in the shootout, but it took an extra round before Vossen sent the standing-room-only crowd home with the victory.

“You go into a shootout with a plan,” Vossen said, “but you get out there, see what the goalie gives you and you just react. It was a great feeling when it hit the back of the net.”